Welcome back to the Week 9 NFL DFS Value plays, brought to you by RotoQL. There’s a lot of movement happening in the NFL this week, so I hope you’ve been keep track of what spots are opening up with daily fantasy football opportunities because that might be the key to finding a winning strategy on this slate in DraftKings or FanDuel contests!

Remember, this article should not be your lone source of daily fantasy football research each week. Winning DFS players utilize several different sources of info. And we'd be remiss if we didn't point out that for an even bigger advantage, the RotoQL NFL lineup optimizer can't be beat. RotoQL’s industry-leading fantasy football packages, which are full of key stats and easy-to-use DFS tools, played a big role in the picks below.

Week 9 Daily Fantasy Football Advice: Quarterback picks, values

Am I crazy to play Wentz against the Denver defense, or is it DraftKings fault for pricing him down this much? As a player with some of the best weekly touchdown probability, he’s playable on FanDuel, sure, but DK is really testing us to list the lead MVP candidate at only $6,100. The Broncos defense has always been a spot to avoid for most QBs and WRs, but they’ve also looked somewhat vulnerable the past few weeks. What’s most interesting is Denver’s weak spot seems to be against the TE. Wentz to Zach Ertz has been money all season long and is the Eagles most effective and most consistent way to move the ball. Maybe the elite, outside corners shut down Philly’s wide receivers, but Wentz could still have himself a decent day. I know the Eagles just made a trade for Jay Ajayi that everyone is talking about, but Denver’s defense ranks No. 1 in rush DVOA, and you can see it when you watch the Broncos play.

On the other side, the Eagles run game has struggled in their own right, and even with the acquisition of Ajayi, I don’t see the running game being capable of having a significant impact on Wentz’s opportunity. Denver has yet to allow a rushing TD on the year, so it seems like if the Eagles are going to win this game, Wentz is going to need to be the one to get the ball in the end zone. I know it normally wouldn’t make a whole lot sense, and it’s not the easiest play to make, but I do think Wentz will meet value, even in one of the more difficult matchups.

Daily Fantasy Football Week 9 Picks, Values: Wide receiver

I hate writing up a play two weeks in a row. It hurts even more when the player busted the week before, but here we are again considering Funchess for our lineups. It’s going to be difficult to convince myself to pull the trigger on Funchess after just being burned, but the fact is, he’s simply too cheap for his new role as No. 1 receiver on the Carolina offense. While Funchess has struggled the past few weeks, he continues to see top-tier target numbers, and we can feel even better about the target consistency with Kelvin Benjamin out of the picture. l would also expect Funchess to lead the team in red-zone targets moving forward.

For me, the bigger issue with Funchess isn’t his ability, it’s the quarterback play of Cam Newton. But Atlanta’s defense is ranked 28th overall in DVOA and struggles to defend both the pass and the run, so there should be opportunity for Newton to move the ball, as much worse quarterbacks have given the Falcons issues this year. It’s also encouraging to see the Panthers favored in this game, with Vegas expecting a bounce back. It’d be difficult to match the amount of opportunity Funchess will have at this price tag, I expect him to be a popular option on Sunday.

Look, it’s not a play with the most upside, but Sanu continues to be serviceable in DFS, especially on full-point PPR sites. Something is definitely wrong with this Atlanta offense, but in a strange way, Sanu has benefited from the inefficiency of his surrounding players. Sanu is averaging just about seven targets per game and is somehow only two red-zone targets behind Julio Jones. See what I mean? For some reason, Sanu is seeing more involvement than he saw all of last year when the Atlanta offense was much more productive, putting more points on the scoreboard then it is right now. It’s really odd, but if you watch the Falcons, it does feel like Matt Ryan has relied on Sanu’s consistency to convert first downs when Atlanta needs it, but the two also seem to be on the same page on the plays that break down, with Sanu not giving up on routes and Ryan giving him a shot to make plays.

Similar to Funchess, this is one of the plays you’ll never feel great about, but at the price tag, there’s a lot of opportunity for Sanu that the other options in the range simply don’t have. I’m nowhere near ecstatic about the play, but Sanu continues to do his thing, meeting value week in and week out while always going low owned. I’d be careful about being overexposed, but if you need to step down and are just looking for that last 12-16 points, I think Sanu can help you out.

Week 9 NFL DFS Picks: Tight end values

I think it’s wise to pay up a little bit at TE this week, and with Jordan Reed’s hamstring expected to force him to miss this game, Davis looks like a decent value play. When Reed has missed time, Davis has met value -- it’s a pretty simple formula. The Washington WRs are still a mess, and it’s a toss-up on who is going to see the most usage from week to week. But the Redskins have always liked to move the ball through the TE, so I can see Cousins leaning on Davis, who he’s had a strong connection with when on the field together. Plus, while Seattle just got torched by the Houston WRs, the outside defenders are still a strength. In fact, if you want to attack Seattle anywhere, it’s with the tight end, where Seattle gives up the 12th most fantasy points to the position.

Week 9 NFL DFS Advice: Defense

Los Angeles Rams @ Giants (DraftKings: $3,100; FanDuel: $4,800)

The value defenses are few and far between this week, so I’m going to continue to follow my process of finding weak offensive lines to attack since that has seemed to work from a value perspective. While turnovers and defensive scores can be difficult to predict, projecting sacks in lopsided matchups has been more efficient in finding a defensive floor. This week, the Rams have a significant advantage in the trenches against the Giants, who’s offensive line continues to struggle opening up run holes and has had little success in keeping pressure off of Eli Manning. Eli has always been a player who’s good for some turnovers, so if the sacks rack up early, we could see Eli rush some throws, and with a reputation for poor decision making, that could play right into the Rams D/ST as the top value defense. Plus, on top of this expected floor, the Rams have been a team defense/special teams with big-play ability. I think they can be played in all formats with a solid floor and a favorable ceiling.